Chicano

discrimination towards students, degrading and inhuman treatment towards the students, inexistence of appropriate and quality school materials and resources, to name a few inequalities students faced. These struggles demonstrated the relentless desire of Chicanos, in particular, to achieve justice and equality in the educational system. Thus, leading students from all five different high schools to unite and organize a walkout to bring awareness and change to the inequities Hispanic students…

The article discusses the how Day of the Dead celebrations became prevalent in the U.S. during the 1970’s following the Chicano movement, gained further involvement by other Latino groups by the 1990’s, and finally participation by non-Latinos (Marchi, 2013). Due to the new ways to celebrate the Day of the Dead that have evolved in the U.S., there has been debate over the…

One of the scholarly articles that was more thought provoking to me was Portes and Zhou work, titled The New Second Generation: Segmented Assimilation and Its Variants. While I have seen and experience this segmented assimilation, this is the first time I have read an article that articulates the situation so clearly. I have never thought of myself as a second-generation immigrant because I wasn’t born in the United States. However, according to the article, I am considered a second-generation…

Though there a many benefits of having a group of people united under one national identity, there runs a risk of the idea of nationalism becoming radicalized. An example of this is the Mexican-American, “Chicanos” nationalist group known as the National Brown Berets (Anzaldua 5). This group, though they are not violent, is a militarized group that takes pride in its discipline and uniformity (Cuetalachtli). Radicalized is their classification due to the ideals…

My family’s migration story goes back to when my father was born in the sovereign state of Guanajuato in Mexico. He migrated to this country in 1983 at the young age of eighteen facing many challenges along the way such as racism and the fact that he had nothing to his name. His journey was long and difficult as he traveled alongside his cousin and a coyote leading the way. Although my father did not enter the country in a way that is considered “legal” he felt he needed to in order to attempt…

Being the first generation of my family to graduate from high school and attend college has been one of my major goals throughout my life. I was born on September 21, 1992 in Mexico City but raised in San Diego since the age of four. My mother was only sixteen years old when she had me raising me as a single mother, my mom has sacrificed her life to put a roof over my head. My childhood has not been easy, since I was a little girl I had to face many obstacles that has shaped me to become the…

”(Min-Zhan Lu pg.447). Lu recognized the fact that language was a big issue for her growing up, and those emotions still affect her even as an adult. Anzaldua still had to overcome obstacles as a teacher, because administrators didn't approve of chicano studies. She would school her students in secrecy knowing she could possibly lose her career. “Because the future depends on the breaking down of paradigms, it depends .on the straddling of two or more ,cultures.”(Anzaldua pg.80). Gloria…

All individuals are born with the capacity of becoming social beings. Our first social identities are predetermined; one is socialized even before being born. Socialization is an ongoing practice that continues to morph throughout the years of one’s life, in other words, the process of learning who we are as individuals and our place in the world is unsolidified. The experiences and interactions humans have with other members of society are contributing factors for how self-identity is…

Brazilian writer Paolo Coelho, tells the story about a boy named Santiago who changed a lot through his journey as he discovered that he was the Alchemist and became a spiritual leader. Similarly, the novel The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, by Chicano writer Maceo Montoya, introduces us to a character named Wopper who also changed as a result of his journey and was surprised to learn that he would become a political leader, a Municipal Representative. However, even though the characters have…

My rite of passage occurred when I was thirteen years old as I was forced to leave my childhood behind and become an adult. In my Mexican culture a quinceañera marks the transition from childhood to womanhood; however I fast-forward the preparation for my coming of age ceremony. I clearly remember my rite of passage ceremony: It was the day that my parents returned to Durango, Mexico and I stayed behind to permanently live with one of my older siblings. A few months before my rite of passage my…